UCLA Won't Be "Slam Dunk" for LSU Football in Week One

With LSU football evacuating to Houston for this week as a result of Hurricane Ida, the Tigers are continuing preparation for week one against UCLA.

The Tigers are set to practice this week in Houston before departing Thursday to Los Angeles for the game. It's going to be a week of reaffirming the gameplan and making slight tweaks based on what the team saw from UCLA against Hawaii over the weekend.

The Bruins were a part of "week zero" in college football, taking on and dismantling a much inferior Hawaii team 44-10. Taking a 24-3 lead after the first quarter, UCLA coasted to the win behind a dominant rushing attack that compiled 244 yards on the ground.

Coach Ed Orgeron knows to expect some tricks from Chip Kelly's offense that UCLA didn't show against Hawaii and that this week in practice will be about preparing for some of those situations. Before heading out of Houston on Saturday, the team was able to work in a mock game in order to adjust to the new coaching staff getting comfortable with playcalling.

It was a good step towards being ready for difficulty that comes with a new staff calling a first game on the road. And for LSU fans expecting a cake walk of a season opener, don't be fooled by UCLA.

As part of the first College Gameday broadcast on ESPN over the weekend, analyst Kirk Herbstreit called the purple and gold one of the "sleeper" teams in the country but that the first game against UCLA will be no easy task.

“A sleeper, there’s a few for me, but I’m gonna say LSU,” Herbstreit said on College Gameday. “I keep talking about (Derek Stingley). This is a team that not only had a bad year, they were embarrassed. They were humiliated a year ago. I got to believe there’s too much pride on that roster for LSU to go through what they went through last year.

"They open up with UCLA, and if there’s ever a team that needs a win to kind of recalibrate and get their confidence established in 2021 it’s LSU and Coach O. And that will not be an easy game against Chip Kelly. I think the Bruins are much better, and that’s not a slam dunk if you’re an LSU fan.”

How LSU performs this weekend could be a good indicator into the type of season Tiger fans can expect in 2021.